Injured Dixon anxious to return for UConn women vs. Iona

By Rich Elliott, STAFF WRITER

Published 10:48 pm, Saturday, December 19, 2009

STORRS -- Junior point guard Lorin Dixon never anticipated that she would be sidelined for an extended time period when she suffered a strained left hamstring early in the first half of UConn's exhibition finale against Vanguard Nov. 9. Maybe up to two weeks she believed, but that was it.

The wait has nearly reached six weeks for Dixon, who has missed the first eight games for the top-ranked Huskies. However, it might finally come to an end tonight at Gampel Pavilion against Iona (6; CPTV).

Dixon said following practice Saturday that the current plan is for her to see some playing time. A definitive decision will likely be made today following shootaround.

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"I honestly didn't think I'd be out for more than a week and a half to two weeks,'' Dixon said. "`So for it to be dragging on for this long it's kind of irritating. It bothers me a lot. I'm really anxious. That would be my first actual game of the season so I'm actually very excited to see if I will get in (today) at all. I just want a taste of the game to remember how it feels.''

Dixon, who said that she does not want her first game to come against No. 2 Stanford Wednesday, was in uniform and went through pregame warm-ups for the first time this season against Hartford Dec. 10.

Her hope was that a return against Iona (3-6) would be more solid coming off a 10-day break between games. Dixon was a full participant in practice last Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but she suffered a setback Friday attempting to explode off of her left foot sprinting after a loose ball.

Dixon also saw limited time Saturday when she participated in some halfcourt drills.

"I started feeling it again these past couple of days so they just cut me back again,'' Dixon said. "It just got really tight on me. Mostly I just got really scared because I thought the same thing was happening again when I felt it. It wasn't but I just got scared and I jumped and (trainer Rosemary Ragle) was like, `We're not going to take any chances.'''

Dixon won't be the only member of the Huskies dealing with an injury tonight. Freshman guard Kelly Faris sustained a broken nose in practice Friday and will be wearing a protective mask.

It is the second time Faris has broken her nose. She also suffered the injury in eighth grade.

"I was playing defense and I went to trap somebody and I got an elbow or an arm,'' Faris said. "But I didn't really know it because I've had a broken nose before and I get hit and I feel the same. So I didn't really say anything until afterwards and then I had to go get X-rays. It's inconvenient, but it's not the worst so I'm not going to complain. I'm still playing.''

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Dixon was tabbed as a starter by coach Geno Auriemma in the preseason following what was a productive off-season. Instead, she has watched the Huskies mesh together with her on the bench.There is a clear sense of urgency on Dixon's behalf of getting back in the lineup. And, in turn, it's become a sense of frustration.

"I think that's the biggest thing for me is that over the summer and during the preseason I worked so hard,'' Dixon said. "To not be able to play for the first eight games, it's not like I feel like I did all that work for nothing but I feel like all the work I put in I can't even do anything now. So that's probably the most irritating thing about it is not being able to play at all after having been up here all summer and working so hard.''